Proximity switches have been used in a number of situations, especially on machines or machine tools for a non-contact sensing of a position of a movable part of the machine. In complex machines especially, space is at a premium for such proximity switches. The proximity switch assembly has a cable connector, either a disconnectable type or an integral cable type, for the electrical cable supplying power to the proximity switch and with conductors supplying the switch ON or OFF condition. This switch cable connector must be positioned relative to the axis of the proximity switch so that the cable does not interfere with parts of the machine, especially any moving parts of the machine. To this end, a prior art proximity switch assembly was one which had four mounting holes in the base of the assembly, so that the base, and hence the cable connector, could be mounted in any one of four mounting positions at zero, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees relative to a reference. Thus, the mounting of the proximity switch was limited to these four exact positions.
Another form of proximity switch assembly mounting was proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,637, wherein supposedly the cable connector could be rotated into an infinite number of positions in a 360-degree circle around the axis. However, the mounting bolts had to be tightened after rotational positioning, and the cable connector had two 90-degree arcs whereat access to the mounting bolts was covered by the cable connector, thus precluding tightening of the mounting bolts.